The Fosters has become known for dropped tiny seeds of political awareness amongst the bold oats of sexual awareness it sows each week. This week’s episode features a prime example of that as we open with Callie’s stroll across the college campus. She’s interrupted by a fellow student who asks her to sign a petition requested the college to refuse admittance to a right-wing speaker who is anti-immigration. The spark in Callie’s eye indicates there’s a fire of social activism brimming just beneath the surface, but she tells him she isn’t actually a student at the school.
Cole brings a young boy who is being sexually assaulted by a man he stays with to the precinct, where Stef implores him to reveal the name of the man who is abusing him. Unfortunately, we have a bit of Stockholm Syndrome running through him at the moment, so he takes Stef’s card and leaves. Stef is visibly shaken and shows the first signs of the obsessions that can often be a side effect of a job like hers.
Tess shows up to invited the Fosters over for dinner, where Mariana gives us a fine display of compromising her own character and identity by pretending to be the person she thinks the hunky new neighbor boy will like. While she’s changing to go on a run, Callie poses the question of Mariana hanging out with Ximena’s little sister.
In the backyard, Brandon chases around Mason while Cortney radiates obvious remorse over the loss of that romance, and Mariana dishes about her roller derby tryouts. Inside, Jesus pleads with Emma for forgiveness and informs her that he’s dropping out of school. Smart way to win your girlfriend back, dude.
Meanwhile, trouble is brewing in lesbian paradise, because Lena is showcasing obvious distain for Stef’s continuous rejection of the methods Lena has researched to help Jesus. They don’t even finish the conversation, due to the work phone call Stef takes.
The phone call is from Cole, who takes Stef to an area of town where homeless LGBT youth have set up camp. A young boy recalls fooling around with some other boys in front of him at a hotel room and claims he stole a thumb drive from him. When Stef requests the drive, the boy offers to sell it to her for a hundred bucks.
Dinner ends up being at the Foster family house after all, and while Tess, Lena, and Stef all share awkward exchanges, practically all of the Foster kids are conspiring to attend the fundraising party for the roller derby team. Mariana brings Logan, but when she tells the Moms she’s going to “see a movie”, they allow Jesus to tag along. Although he promises to behave, Mariana has to keep chasing Jesus around to stop him from dancing with the derby girls.
While Brandon and Grace kill the buzz of the party with the low tempo song they wrote together, the big screen displays a video of tryouts that feature Mariana, busting her undercover dive into derby. Just as Callie and Jesus begin to confront her, the cops show up to break up the party. Jesus begins to suffer from a seizure while he and Mariana are outside, and in typical Mariana fashion, she spends more time arguing with Jesus than helping him.
Bringing it all back around full circle to the opening scene, Ximena informs Callie that she is actually an undocumented immigrant, which puts Callie in a position of questioning how to balance keeping herself out of trouble with being vocal for the right reasons. Someone just needs to help Callie figure out what fights are worth participating in, and I think she’ll realize that this is one of them. The next day, Callie joins Ximena and the rest of the group to discuss their plans to protest the speaking event if they can’t stop it from going down. Power to the people!
Meanwhile, all of the grown-ups enjoy some post-dinner wine, especially Stef, who’s feeling extra giggly to the dismay of Lena, who seems to have taken it upon herself to carry the stress of the family on her shoulders. While cleaning up the kitchen, Tess apologizes to Lena and gets so close to blossoming a new friendship only to shove her foot in her own mouth yet again by trying to compliment the Moms on their “alternative lifestyle.” Although I want to smack Tess during 90% of her screen time, this Bayfield/Fosters storyline is an intriguing addition to the season. Watching the Moms navigate a scene that has little to do with their kids and everything to do with adult relationships is a storyline I can definitely get invested in.
Outside, Mr. Bayfield expresses that Tess has never quite gotten over the dissolution of her friendship with Stef. I sure hope we aren’t watching these four set the stage for some Tess and Stef rekindling romance. The Moms don’t deserve to go down like that.
The next morning, Stef pops Ibuprofen to dull her wine headache on her way out the door due to being on call, and just like that Lena is left yet again to deal with the family’s woes on her own. Just as Stef leaves, Mariana shows up to confess her derby endeavors along with Jesus’s seizure at the party. Her lies and desperation have been all for nothing, because Mariana discovers Logan has a girlfriend back in Baltimore.
After Mariana’s confessional, Lena tries to get ahold of Stef at work, only to discover that she was not in fact on call, but went in voluntarily. Moms have a heart to heart that results in Stef’s gushing apologies about not being present and a temporary reconciliation. Let’s hope it sticks. As we say goodbye to the Fosters for the week, Stef and Lena come together to console Jesus after Lena had grounded him with no visitors and threatened inpatient treatment.
What did you think if this week’s episode of The Fosters? Do you think Lena and Stef have some marital bumps ahead? Sound off in the comments!
